Funding Psychedelic Research Petition E-1210

Here is the Minister of Health’s response to our petition. It is encouraging that the Minister recognizes psychedelics are now visible on the horizon. CIHR is the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, which is the research funding arm of the Ministry of Health.

“CIHR is committed to supporting the development of novel mental health treatments and interventions. In the case of psychedelics, which are restricted drugs under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, researchers must obtain an exemption from Health Canada for authorization to possess a specific quantity of a controlled substance to be used solely for scientific purposes outlined in their proposal.

CIHR recognizes the importance of funding research on novel compounds for treatment of mental health disorders and invites researchers to continue to apply to relevant CIHR funding competitions to build upon this important work.”

We are asking the Minister of Health to consider the future benefits and reduced harm if she funds research on psychedelic therapies in hospitals and universities.

Please sign this petition to advance the state of mental health research and make Canada once again, a world leader in psychiatric treatment.Here is the petition in its entirety:

Whereas:

Globally – and within Canada – a multitude of pilot studies and controlled clinical trials have established clear and experimentally-validated protocols for the safe use of psychedelics in clinical-therapeutic contexts.

Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies have shown clear promise as breakthrough interventions for treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder, treatment resistant major depressive disorder, end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill cancer patients, and various substance addiction disorders (ranging from nicotine to alcohol to opioids) – debilitating conditions that the Parliamentary Information service’s studies have concluded to cost the country well over $50 billion annually.

Psychedelic compounds, and the plant sources they are derived from, cannot be patented, and as such, there is no incentive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in the development of these treatments despite a rapidly growing body of evidence supporting their effectiveness.

As such, clinical research using psychedelics thus requires robust public funding in order to progress. Such funding would help to establish Canada as a world leader in the development of novel mental health treatments and interventions.

Therefore, given the strong precedent for the safe use of psychedelics in controlled-clinical settings,

We, the undersigned, Citizens of Canada, call upon the Minister of Health to request that the Minister acknowledge the potential for psychedelic research to generate novel and effective treatment options for these – and likely various other conditions – and to commit significant, multi-year, funding for major psychedelic research projects at hospitals and universities across Canada.

Sign the petition here in English or in French. If you would like to help us gather signatures, use the links above on a tablet so signatories can fill in their details, or print these QR Codes so people can snap them with their phones:English French
Join the discussion on Facebook. Here’s Dan Greig of CSSDP U of T talking about psychedelic research at the recent Mapping the Mind With Mushrooms conference on Sept. 23. Share it with a link to the petition.

Nick Clark generously donated his time to create this image.
Share it with a link to the petition

Current Research:

Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris will be speaking in Toronto at the university of Toronto on October 30th, giving a talk called “Can Magic Mushrooms Treat Depression?” Tickets are available at the psychedelic speakers tab on the menu.